Health

At present, societal importance is determined by how grand a person’s office chair is. However, while you may be comfortable sitting on your chair while waiting for your 8-hour office duty to finish, you might also be posing hazards to your health.

Why Prolonged Sitting is a Health Risk

According to studies, a lot of people are suffering from debilitating diseases due to office work. Why? You might ask. Simple: the longer you sit on your chair without stretching or standing up, the less mobile you are.

As a matter of fact, a research shows that workers who are able to stand up more frequently are drastically decreasing their risk of harboring ailments involving the coronary arteries, consequently lowering their mortality rate. With this in mind, there is no need to wonder why a lot of doctors are actually substituting their conventional chairs for a heart-friendly gym equipment. A treadmill in the office? Why not!

The Risks Associated with Prolonged Sitting

In a society where the value is placed on luxury, which of course involves sitting down across a long table, the risks of embracing a sedentary lifestyle become a vaguer concept, especially to the youth. As long as you have a high-paying job and all you need to do is sit in front of your desk and finish your job, what else should matter?

Well, for one, sitting down the whole day does not allow your blood to circulate well, and it also does not help in burning calories. There are so many risks linked with prolonged sitting, and if you are still not convinced that standing up every once in a while will do good for your health, below are some of the diseases that are abundant in progressive countries that turned sedentary lifestyle into a norm:

Diabetes

Cardiovascular diseases

Transient ischemic attack

Obesity

Sleeping disorders

Cancers

The Value of Standing Up

You might be the richest man alive, but you can never buy health. Based on a study that was conducted in Australia, workers can drastically improve their health status by simply standing up more during the day. Aside from decreasing stress levels, developing posture and lessening the risk of bone diseases at old age, standing up for about 2 hours more per day can improve one’s blood sugar level, as well as triglycerides and good cholesterol levels.

With this in mind, companies of developed countries are warming up to the idea of lessening sitting times and promoting a healthier lifestyle by replacing chairs with treadmills. Long-term and pricey it may be, but the results will definitely be positive.

More than a chair and a table, our society needs the right frame of mind and an active lifestyle. By turning our backs to a sedentary lifestyle, we can find our key to unlocking longevity.